Posted tagged ‘Conferences’

T is for Thriving in the High School Classroom, an E-book that provides practical suggestions, tips, and strategies for building a community of learners in the high school classroom. It’s researched and classroom based. Here’s what you will find.

Chapter 1: Rest, Reflect, Renew

Checklist for Last Week of School

Checklist for Summer—Personal and Professional

Checklist for New Teachers or Teachers with New Positions

Checklist for Month and Week before School Starts

Checklist for Home Visits

Chapter 2: Family Engagement

Sample Course Syllabus (Includes Letter to Parents and Students)

Help Me Get to Know Your Child

Parent Questionnaire

Help Wanted Form

Sample Newsletter

Sample Unit Letter to Parents

Chapter 3: Beyond the Classroom Walls

PIN Handout

Conference Note Taking Form

Student Input for Conferences

Student Portfolio Choices

Teacher Conference Sheet for Individual Students

PowerPoint Presentation for PIN

Chapter 4: Engaging in School Culture

Substitute Feedback Form

Substitute Folder Checklist

Movie Activity 1 & Activity 2

Chapter 5: It’s About Time

Unit Calendar

Task List

While You Were Absent

Grouping Techniques

Chapter 7: Building Relationships with Students

Alphabet Squares

Class Bill of Rights Lesson

Classroom Bingo

Student Assistant Application

Game On

If You’re Looking for…

Inventories—Reading, Writing, and Math

Not Just a Number

Questions to Prompt Student Thinking

Student Information Sheet

Sign the Brick Wall

Student Interview Activity/Collage Activity

Student Search

Team Statistics Group & Team Statistics Individual

Team Building Activities

Getting to Know Your Students PowerPoint Slides (Stand Like Me and Dragon

S is for Student-Led Conferences, for both elementary and middle school. One of my responsibilities while transitioning a junior high school to a middle school was the implementation of student-led conferences. I admit I was worried that teachers, parents, and/or students were not going to be happy with this new concept, but the feedback we received from teachers, parents, and students was overwhelmingly supportive of student-led conferences.

It’s not too early to get organized for conferences, like spring, they will be here before we know it. When I was serving as a learning specialist with the task of converting a junior high to a middle school, I encountered student-led conferences. Like we all do when we encounter something new and appealing, we learn everything we can about it, which is just what I did. After the principal had given me the assignment to implement student-led conferences for the midterm of the fall semester, I knew I had to develop a plan to help teachers, students, and parents get ready for something new. Before I even read the teacher evaluations, I knew that we had accomplished something worthwhile and almost magical for students and their families. The response from teachers, parents, and students was overwhelmingly positive.

“Student-led conferences represent a highly effective way to communicate directly and authentically with parents. When students direct the reporting process, information is communicated in a form everyone can understand and use. Reviewing the portfolio during the conference becomes a learning experience for everyone involved. As such, student-led conferences are an especially important part of the comprehensive reporting system” (Guskey & Bailey, 2001, pp. 190-199).

If you’re ready to try something new for conferences, we highly recommend student-led conferences and with that thought in mind, we have created two guides to implementing student-led conferences for middle school (grades 6, 7, and 8) and intermediate schools (grades 4, 5, and 6). The key word in this product is COMPLETE, it truly is a Complete Guide to Planning and Implementing Student-Led Conferences in Your Middle School or Elementary School and it is really just three steps: Plan, Practice, Perform. There are over 20 reproducible pages to facilitate the implementation of Student-Led Conferences in the fall and spring semesters. The forms that are included are easily adapted to your school. There are student ice-breaker activities designed for conference night as well as portfolio checklists, content specific reflections and follow-up evaluation forms for teachers, students, and parents. If your school is not ready to move to Student-Led Conferences, the information included in this packet can be used by a grade level team or individual teacher. It’s a system that was successfully implemented in a large middle school in an urban area with awesome results. And, the bottom line is that Student-Led Conferences are good for students!